Getting off to a Good Start: Titles and Introductions
Your title and introduction set the tone for the rest of your paper. An introduction has 3 main jobs: to introduce your reader to the topic, to inform the reader of your thesis, and to motivate the reader to care about your topic. But an introduction is also an introduction to you. Gain the reader’s trust from the beginning by showing that you are a competent and elegant writer, and they will be more likely to listen to what you have to say in the rest of your essay.
1. A clever title will engage your reader and predispose them to take your paper seriously. Often, a title has two parts, divided by a colon: a main title, which is meant to grab the reader’s attention and where you can be more playful; and a subtitle, which tells your reader more specifically what your paper is about.
In other words, your title should be “party in the front” and “business in the back”!
2. Make sure the title not only conveys the topic of your essay, but hints at your thesis as well!
3. By the time your reader is done reading your introduction, they should know what your topic is (the subject your paper is “about”) and what your thesis is (the Main Point you want to make about your topic). If this is unclear, your introduction has not done its job!
Often this is done by explaining what is at stake in the thesis, and what the significance of these stakes are. It can also be done by connecting the topic to something the reader already knows about or cares about.
4. In addition to introducing the topic, the introduction should also motivate the topic: it should explain to the reader why they should care about this topic enough to read your paper!
5. Make sure your introduction is long enough; short introductions feel abrupt and awkward.
Remember that a key purpose of the introduction is to lure the reader into wanting to read about your topic. Slow down and take the time to draw your reader in.
6. Don’t go into too much detail in the introduction; save this for the body paragraphs!
Too much detail right away is overwhelming. The goal at the beginning of your paper is simply to inform the reader of your topic and thesis, and – you guessed it! – to motivate them to read the rest of the paper.
7. Try to start with a “hook”: an interesting sentence that will draw your reader in.
You could give a startling fact; make a clever observation; or draw the reader’s attention to something people don’t usually to think about.
8. One “tried-and-true” strategy for introductions is the funnel method: you begin your essay by talking about a broader topic that your subject falls into, and then gradually narrow it down until you bring your reader to the main topic of the essay. This allows you to “hook” your reader with something that they can personally relate to.